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BT Prohibits Use Of Huawei Hardware In Its 5G network

"As a result, Huawei have not been included in vendor selection for our 5G core", he said.

BT's decision to replace Huawei in the core network will focus attention on German incumbent Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT), which is similarly understood to rely on Huawei for some core network gear.

Huawei has previously promoted its partnership with BT, and as recently as February issued a press release that said the two were working together on the "development and live trials" of 5G core network technologies. 5G rollout in the United Kingdom is rumored to begin in late 2019.

Huawei told The Reg it had "been working with BT for nearly 15 years".

The report, which cites a company spokesperson, claims the move will bring BT's mobile phone business in line with an internal policy to keep the Chinese company's equipment at the edge of telecoms infrastructure.

"We need to decide the extent to which we are going to be comfortable with Chinese ownership of these technologies", MI6 chief Alex Younger told students at St Andrews University in Scotland.

BT's announcement comes with Washington reportedly pushing its allies to shun Huawei equipment and technology as they roll out next-generation 5G platforms.

It is believed that USA operators will not be buying 5G equipment from Huawei. But while major countries like the US and Britain are backing away from Huawei, smaller ones like Portugal have yet to voice similar concerns.

Many operators have resisted the criticisms of Huawei, arguing that its equipment is rigorously tested in their networks. It had revenue of £72 billion a year ago.

Huawei plays a key role in the "last mile" technology that delivers superfast broadband from the pavement to some 20 million homes across the UK. Huawei later supplied components for BT's national rollout of fiber optic broadband.

The world's second biggest smartphone maker Huawei, is at the centre of a spying and trade dispute after a top executive was arrested in Canada, and BT removed 4G networking equipment in the UK.

But it had to resume actively removing Huawei from the 3G and 4G networks used by the EE telecoms company it acquired in 2016.

BT will remove Huawei hardware from its core 4G network within the next two years amid concerns over China's influence on national telecoms infrastructure. The completed removal of hardware is expected in 18 months time, BT said.

Huawei highlighted its long relationship with BT and "proven track record" of cyber security.